New York Times: The Story of AIDS

To mark the thirty years since cases of the disease that would become known as AIDS were first reported in the U.S., veteran New York Times health reporter Lawrence K. Altman, M.D., has written a concise history of the disease, and the virus, HIV, that causes it.

Altman’s account, written from his perch in the front row of reporters covering the story, touches on the full wide swath of the history of this modern disease--homosexuality, epidemiology, pharmacology, history and the venerable practice of public health.

This commentary originally appeared on the RWJF New Public Health blog.